You and Me and School and Ghosts Normal Stuff
by IHKF
Summary: The lives and memories of the Activity Club in non-chronological order. Everything takes place between the second and third story of the "Betrayal" series. Chapter 1: "Okay. My Dad is going to be home in one hour. I think…" Max placed his hands on his hips and glanced from side to side. "I think we can fix all of this by the time he gets home!"
1. This Corner Store Needs Destruction

8th Grade

"Oh… crap." Max breathed and rubbed his head, looking around the corner store- or, what was left of it. Shelves were tossed over and bags upon bags of chips and other goodies lay smashed and crushed on the floor. He was almost scared to move from his spot as there was shattered glass everywhere, and he already was pretty sure he had a few pieces in his arm.

From where he sat near the freezer, Isaac was across the way. The medium stood in one place, jaw slowly dropping the longer he glanced around the room and the more it began to sink in.

The corner store was destroyed and the reality of the situation was starting to weigh heavily on Max's shoulders.

"OH MY GOD, ISAAC! WHAT DO WE DO?!" Max stood and began screaming, hands on either side of his head. His baseball cap was long forgotten somewhere in the corner store (and he was not about to look for it in the chance that a wall may collapse should he try to move much of anything).

"I DON'T KNOW!" Isaac leaned back against the window, one hand pressed to his forehead, either in an attempt to wipe the sweat from his forehead or slow the spinning that was wrecking his mind. Whatever the case, it didn't settle Max's heart at all. They looked left, then right, then left again, then finally at each-other. Their hands fell limply at their sides.

"AH!"

"AH!"

They began screaming at each-other, not entirely sure what they were trying to accomplish.

"AH!"

"AH!"

"STOP!" Max extended his arms and waved them back and forth like a fan. Isaac stopped screaming at the command, instead pausing to pant and crouch down until he caught his breathe. "Okay. My Dad is going to be home in one hour. I think…" Max placed his hands on his hips and glanced from side to side. "I think we can fix all of this by the time he gets home!"

The entire counter fell with a cloud of smoke, sending the cash register straight to the floor with a 'clank' and the accompanying sound of it popping open. A few dollars flew in the smoke, dissipating Max's false sense of hope and security. His shoulder fell just like all of his hopes and dreams. "Okay well I'm thinking we climb the tree up to the roof then we just jump- go ahead and jump! Quick and painless, ya feel me?"

Isaac exhaled, rolled his eyes, and slapped the back of Max's knee. "We need to be smart about this. Let's stop for a few moments and think." He'd sobered from his breakdown with an amazing quickness about him. Max must have been freaking out enough for the both of them. "Is there any way we can replace all of this before your dad gets home?"

Max frowned and thought for a good long while, leaving Isaac to kick up some dirt and think their situation through. Nothing particularly normal ever happened to the Activity Club. That wasn't to say they were annoyed by their constant battles against mischievous spirits- just that they weren't surprised when one came knocking on their front door- or more literally, the entire corner store Max's family lived in. The day's surprise had been an obnoxiously hyper and hungry spirit- a fox spirit with ears the size of two aisles- and yet they'd still only noticed its presence once they heard a shelf fall. The chase had been more or less exhausting and probably not worth all of the damage it dealt. In the end, the fox spirit trotted out of the store like a Pomeranian Lapdog with a diamond-studded collar on its neck, leaving them in the shambles that was Max's home. "I mean, we have an entire new stock in the back anyway, but still!" Max turned his arm to get as close a look as he could to his elbow. With hesitance, he tried to pull some of the glass out of his arm, wincing when he realized he'd definitely need plyers. Isaac nodded and carefully stepped over the pile of glass he'd (luckily) landed next to and not on top of. The spirit had nasty hind legs- that was for sure.

Eventually he found his way to the door that led to the storage room. Isaac held his hand out, opening and closing his hand to gesture for the keys. Max groaned as he gave up on another piece of glass and tossed it Isaac's way. Isaac caught the set easily and went to stick it in the door- only to realize there were like ten.

"What the-? Max, your dad has one corner store, right?"

In the time it took for Isaac to realize opening a door was more difficult a task than it'd sounded, Max had somehow gotten one leg over his neck and was hopping in place (a little too closely to the pile of glass on the floor to be safe). Hearing his name, Max glanced away from his awkwardly-bent elbow and turned (tried to turn) to look at his friend. Isaac would have laughed had he not been so incredibly annoyed by the plethora of keys in his hands. "Oh, uh, yeah. Those are the keys to our bathrooms, bedrooms, the storage room, and a key for the kitchen."

"The kitchen?! Why do you need a key for the KITCHEN?!"

Max shrugged (as much as he could with his own leg over his shoulder) and hopped a little closer, trying desperately to get away from the glass that he was threatening to fall into, eyes wide and a drop of sweat rolling down his head. "I don't know!"

"MAX!"

"OKAY IT'S BECAUSE I SLEEPWALK AND OCCASIONALLY EAT ALL OF THE DAIRY PRODUCTS."

"MAX I DON'T CARE JUST TELL ME WHICH IS THE STORAGE ROOM KEY!"

"I DON'T KNOW! JUST TRY ALL OF THEM!"

Isaac irritatingly tossed the keys in the air and fumbled with them as he looked Max straight in the eyes, trying to make a point. "We don't exactly have enough time for me to do that!"

"Well you have enough time to argue with me about it!"

Isaac screamed and started shoving keys as fast as he could into the keyhole while Max unhooked his leg from its position.

First key was a letdown.

Second key was no better than the first.

Third key was just right.

Fourth key- wait!

Isaac yelped and fiddled around until he found the third key again- only to drop the entire chain and lose it again. Max sucked in his cheeks and grabbed the broom, attempting to pick up as much glass as he possibly could while Isaac tried desperately to pick the keys up. Much to their disdain, the glass was not coming up easily and Isaac continued dropping the keys every time he picked them up.

Max groaned and tossed the broom at Isaac's head, hitting the ginger and sending his face into the door. He nearly laughed at the short cry of pain he heard from his friend, but quickly sobered up when he remembered the intensity of the situation. "That's it! Switch! You sweep the floor and I'll find the dang key!"

Max's hands were much steadier with speed. He found the right key in seconds and managed to unlock the door without any further problems- until the door got stuck. Max pushed once. He pushed twice. He pushed a third time with as much strength as he could muster, but alas the door wouldn't come unstuck. The corners of Max's lips twitched downwards as he jiggled the knob repeatedly.

"Um, Isaac we have a- HOLY COW HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

Isaac stood in the middle of the store, glass swept away neatly and the dust and debris cleared away, leaving the floor shiny and clean. "What?" Max spread his arms and motioned to the entirety of the floor, to which Isaac shrugged and made a cloud in his other hand. "Wind powers, duh."

"I forgot you had those."

"Yeah."

Max turned towards the door and started trying to push against it. Every time he felt like he was getting somewhere, his shoes would slide against the tile of the floor and send him drifting downwards with no break. "The door's jammed. I can't get it open."

"I'm assuming you don't want it broken?"

"You'd be right to assume that, yes!"

There was the faint sound of one of Isaac's clouds fading away.

Almost ten minutes passed and the combined weight of the two spectrals had done nothing to the door. The wooden barrier stood true and strong. Max vaguely wondered how there wasn't a scratch on it, considering he was sure himself and Isaac were covered in splinters.

Exhausted, the two pulled away and sat on the floor, panting and giving the door dirty looks between breathes. "Max," Isaac sighed "I think we need to just take the thing down. We'll say a couple of hooligans smashed the freezer doors and the door to the storage room and we'll be fine."

Even with the lack of air in his lungs, Max managed to laugh. "Did you just use the words hooligans unironically?"

Isaac opened his mouth to retort, realized he had indeed used the word 'hooligan's unironically, and promptly shut his mouth. "Shut up."

"You are such an old man!"

"Max, am I shooting the door down or not?!"

"No!"

"So what are we going to do?"

"Sit here and hope our inevitable death is soon upon us- preferably upon us" Max checked his watch "in less than thirty minutes."

Isaac saw Max's face fall, but he knew it wasn't anything compared to what his face would look like when his father got home and discovered his dream store had been trashed. His own heart plummeted at the thought. Mister Puckett was a great man- a bit childish to be a father- but a great man nevertheless. There had to be something they could do, if not to save Max's dad the stress, but Max the guilt.

"Look" he sighed "maybe there's something else we can do? I don't know, some window in the back we can climb in and out of?"

Max shook his head and leaned back with his palms pressed flat against the tile floor. His cap hid his eyes for the most part, but Isaac could see how defeated he looked. He couldn't blame him. Disappointing a parent was a horrible feeling- one Isaac knew well. While he doubted there was ever a time Max's parents were disappointed in him, he didn't doubt that some sense of shame lingered with Max without an outside source. "If that door doesn't open, there's no getting in there. But if we smash it open, it'll cost my dad a fortune to fix- added onto the shattered glass and everything."

Everything was messed up. His dad would be home any minute and he couldn't do anything to fix up the store even a little. His dad would come home and either sit on his bed for hours contemplating his life choices or weep for a good day before finally getting anything done- after he jumped the hurdle of losing faith in the fresh start he'd hoped for. Max growled in frustration and grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a bag of marshmallows. With as much energy as he had left in him, he tossed it at the storage room door.

Much to their surprise, the wooden door opened as soon as the bag made an impact, slamming against the wall to its side. The spectral's jaws dropped slowly at first, then all at once their mouths were wide open.

"Are" Max's eye twitched "you" he clenched his fists "serious?!" He spread his arms wide, voice echoing in the otherwise empty store.

"Why did we think this was a good idea?!" Isaac's hand was outstretched behind them as they flew around the corner store, his wind sending them soring. On occasion they could feel the scooter lift up just a few inches, but the movement would still make their hearts jump. Max's hand tightened around the handles of their ride while his other hand stacked boxes and bags and cans on shelves, just as Isaac's free arm tightened around his waist. "Dad's gonna get here any second! We've gotta hurry!"

"So this is the best option?!"

"Do you have a better idea?!"

"You mean one that wouldn't potentially send our heads through a concrete wall?!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Then shut up!"

They came to the end of the aisle and Max made a sharp turn- sharp enough that they were riding tipped to the side for a good portion of the following lane. Isaac screeched and slowed the stream of wind for only a moment. When he realized his reaction was doing more harm than good by making them unbalanced, he sent an even stronger gust out of his palm. Max yelped at the change, but tossed pretzels and candies and sunglasses and bottles of glitter all the same.

They didn't hear the sliding doors open or the shuffling of plastic bags and content humming. Max's dad stepped through the threshold with tons upon tons of souvenirs in either hand. He tilted his head to the music he was humming, eyes shut as he embraced the smell of home. "Oh, son! I'm home!" A flash of color sped by him fast enough to spin him around. "Whoa!" Just as his butt hit the ground, he heard the screeching of wheels and what sounded like muffled cries from two boys.

When Max's dad opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of Max kicking something away, successfully hiding it from sight. Both boys stood beside each-other, hand folded almost mysteriously behind their backs with smiles as wide and freaky as some of the cosplayers he'd seen at the comic convention. The parent sat up and rubbed his sore buttocks, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Isaac! It's nice to see you came to visit!" He glanced around their home with curious eyes, looking for a sign of whatever it might have been that was making the boys act so strangely. "Em, what did you two do while I was gone?"

"We cleaned the corner store-!"

"We tidied up the shelves-!"

They answered simultaneously, both looking at the other with a fear in their eyes. Max rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "We cleaned the store and fixed the shelves!"

"Oh, how nice of you boys!" As he went to stand, Isaac and Max shot each-other relieved glances, exhaling the air they'd been holding. "That must have been hard work, too! How would you boys like to share some of the ramen noodles I brought home? They're mystery flavored!"

"They have mystery flavors of ramen? That's a thing they make?" Isaac's eye twitched and Max's face went slightly green, a hand flying to his mouth. "No, I just can't read the labels so I have no idea what flavor any of these are!"

Max's father disappeared up the stairs, leaving Max and Isaac to wallow in pride. "I can't believe we just did that!"

"That was so awesome, man!"

"You were so cool!"

"Me? You're the reason we broke the sound barrier! Without you, that would have been impossible!"

"Impossible? Max, you're the one who had sick accuracy! I nearly sent us toppling over like ten times!"

The two sat and gushed over what they'd done for a long time (maybe ten minutes) before Max sighed and wrapped an arm around Isaac. While he was surprised at first, Isaac grinned ear-to-ear and returned the hug full-force, squeezing Max's shoulders. "Seriously, Sparky. I couldn't have done this without you. Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Max."

The two pulled away and followed Max's dad upstairs, kind of nervous about the ramen but not scared enough to reject it.

"So how long until he sees the glass is broken?"

"A week."

"A full week?"

Max returned Isaac's skeptical look with a cynical one.


	2. Heart With Blood She Didn't Want

8th Grade

"Hey Cindy, can I ask you a question?"

Cindy paused with a large pretzel stuffed into her mouth. Max nearly laughed, but held it back for her sake. He was not about to tell her she looked like a dog with a stick in its mouth. That was too mean and as funny as it was he was not 'that guy'. She seemed to realize it on her own, though, because her eyes widened and she nearly choked on the huge piece she bit off, rushing herself to finish it.

After she punched her own chest a few times and coughed on the salt, Cindy took a deep breath and asked "what do you want to know, Max?"

They walked alone the boardwalk with the business and atmosphere of the Mayview fair surrounding them. Isabel was filling balloons with water at a horrifyingly rapid pace, leaving the carny that stood behind the counter sweating under his (fake?) moustache. Ed was participating in the pie-eating contest- and winning, by the looks of it. Blueberry filling was everywhere. It was on the tablecloth. It was on the ground. The filling even hit some poor child square in the eyes. Isaac was in the bathroom (where they were, nobody had any idea) and Spender got lost an hour ago. They didn't know where he went. That said, Max and Cindy were alone and he was itching to ask a few questions. It'd nearly been a year since they'd become familiar with her, and yet hardly any of them knew anything about her- interests, friends, enemies, dreams, fears... Even Ed couldn't answer a lot of questions about her.

Max thought for a few seconds about what he wanted to ask. There were lots of things, but he kept drawing a blank. So many were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't seem to get the words out. What was her family like? He'd heard the story from Ed and Isabel, but he figured Cindy could explain her parent's behaviors better than either of the other two could. What were her grades in school? That was too much. What was her first memory as a child? What about her most embarrassing moment?

"Let's start off simple. What's your birthday?" He figured he'd ask the bigger questions a little later- how'd she get her tool? Where are Ed's parents and has she met them? He didn't know exactly where her boundaries were and he was not about to go jumping over any lines. Not yet. He wasn't even sure if it would be him to cross them. Ed and Isabel were probably in a better position to ask things like that. He and Cindy had talked alone maybe three times in the year he'd known of her existence.

"Saint Patrick's Day."

"Wait, really?!"

Cindy nodded, lips stretching into a huge smile. "Yep, Saint Patty's Day!"

"That's… oddly fitting… what with green and all."

She got him a quick glare, but glanced away before she thought he could tell. He made a note of the boundary he was clearly not allowed to break just yet. "Any other questions?"

Max thought, munching on his cotton candy as he searched through the files in his head. "What do you do for fun?" When it came around to the holidays, nobody had any clue what to get her, so that seemed as good a question to ask as any. They'd ended up pitching in to get her a book about martial arts- Isabel's idea. While Cindy seemed eternally grateful for the gift (she nearly squeezed the life out of them and finished the book around three days after she got it), it was probably a good idea to know what she would actually want.

Cindy shrugged and took a small bite of her pretzel.

"I don't know… work on my spectral talents?" Max gave her a look and she smiled sheepishly once the bite was gone. "I mean, I guess I like dancing, but besides that-!"

"Dancing, huh? Are you any good at it?"

"Pfft, it's like the only thing I know how to do, really."

"Wait, I thought you were good at math?" Cindy winced and swayed back and forth on her heels. "I'm okay at math, but I'm not great at it in any meaning of the word."

"You're on the math team!"

"Max, have you seen our math team? None of us really know what we're doing."

"Wait, nobody on the math team knows how to do math?"

"None of us have any idea what the heck a scalene triangle is."

"Okay… that's disappointing."

That hadn't helped much, considering 'dancing' didn't have a huge market for gifts. He guessed they could get her a CD or something? Max tore off another piece of cotton candy and tossed it into his mouth, waiting for it to melt on his tongue before swallowing it. "So, about your tool?"

Cindy smiled and skimmed Max over from the corner of her eye. "You wanna know about my spirit!"

"Kinda sorta?" Max's face dropped "Tell me everything I'm really curious and I want to know" it was with a deadpan expression that he said it, eyes widened in attentiveness. "Okay, okay I'll tell you!" She giggled and lightly pushed him away with a hand to his chest. "My spirit's kind of a chef."

"A chef? But…" He pointed at her cellphone. "It's... it's in a phone!"

Cindy cocked an eyebrow at Max. "And what's your point?"

"Don't spirits just somehow, someway find a tool that has something to do with their abilities?"

He frowned when she snorted at him. "That's not how that works."

"Oh good, the world makes sense again."

"Drop the sarcasm, you dork."

"It's a part of me, I can't help it!"

She whacked him upside the head.

As soon as Max was done complaining about the bump he was probably sporting, Cindy continued on with the conversation, taking another small bite of the pretzel. "Here's how it went: my spirit wandered into my house, attacked Mister Bluett in the kitchen, lost the fight, then hurried to find its way to a tool to inhabit. Unfortunately, it mistook my cellphone for a knife and-!"

"How did it mistake your cellphone for a knife?!"

"I don't know. They're not very smart, I guess. Maybe thought my phone was an electric knife?"

"Do they even know what electricity is?"

"I don't know and I also don't care."

Max's lips tightened, lost in his own head. There was dead silence for a few minutes. The two of them glanced around awkwardly; avoiding eye-contact when there was nothing to say.

"So I take it this means you can cook?"

Cindy choked on another bite of her pretzel. In fright, she grasped her throat and coughed violently. She could feel the salt inching down the wrong hole bit by bit. Max jumped into action and hit her back, trying desperately to help her swallow the snack. Once Cindy gulped it down the right hole, she took a deep breath and bent over, hands on her knees. She could tell the salt was still there, sliding around in the hole reserved for breathing. It made the entire recovery inhalation process more difficult.

"Hey, guys! I think I found Mister Spender!"

They turned at the sound of Isaac's voice, alarmed by the suddenness of it. He was running toward them and- laughing? That was odd.

"Have a nice trip to the golden throne I take it?"

"Max."

"No, seriously what happened?"

Isaac grinned, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "Oh, I think you're going to get a real kick outta this."

* * *

"Oh my god." Isabel covered her mouth with both of her hands and glanced away, shoulders shaking violently. "How did he even end up here?"

"Don't ask questions nobody has the answer to, Max." Isaac rested his elbow on Max's shoulder and leaned on him, the corner of his mouth twitching- a sign he was trying just as hard as Isabel not to laugh.

Spender sat over a dunk tank filled with water, a large circle next to his head with large painted letters that read 'HIT ME'. Women, children, and men of all ages took their turns tossing rubber balls at the circle as a carny sat beside the dunk tank snickering.

"I don't even know why I'm surprised." Cindy mumbled.

Ed nudged Isabel and whispered some kind of joke in her ear. It took her a moment to register what he'd said, but when the wheels finished turning Isabel broke out laughing. Cindy glanced over her shoulder at them and her wide grin faltered and fell to a small smile. "Hey Eddy, do you want to toss a ball?"

Ed turned around, eyes wide in realization that yes he could indeed dunk his teacher in a pit of water and that was something he would very much like to do. He nodded enthusiastically and ran up the stairs that lead to the line. Cindy made a move to follow, only to feel someone grab her arm. She yelped and jumped, but relaxed when it was only Isabel. "Oh my goodness! You startled me!"

"You wanna toss a few at Mister Spender, too?"

Cindy's eyebrows creased, but she smiled and nodded with a very small word of validation. Isabel was dragging her up the stairs the first syllable she'd uttered, leaving Max and Isaac at the bottom to stay and watch. Isaac felt Max's eyes on him and frowned at the expression he saw on his friend's face.

"What?"

"You really don't wanna throw a ball at Spender?"

"Why would I?"

"I don't know- years of secrets and emotional neglect?"

Isaac sighed, but thought about it, eyes scanning the form of their helpless teacher who sat with his arms crossed and vehement grimace on his face. Maybe he should?

"Nah…"

"Why not? You might not get this opportunity again." Max snickered and gestured to the pit.

"If Ed doesn't knock him down, Isabel will. Then it won't be half as fun seeing him get soaked." Max couldn't really argue with that reasoning, so he looked to Ed. The boy was maniacally smiling to himself, wringing his hands as he waited his turn to toss a rubber ball. "Besides, I haven't gotten to see a lot of you without the group lately. Kinda wanna hang out with my best friend alone, ya know?"

Max felt his face warm up, but he hid it in a sarcastic comment and some complaint about the weather, to which Isaac slapped his arm.

"Never mind. I want nothing to do with you."

"Aww, Isaac come back!"

* * *

Ed was focused. His eyes had already met Spender's and the teacher was sweating through his tank top.

That was just what Ed wanted.

"Yes, be terrified for I am your worst nightmare today, dear teacher!" Isabel patted Ed gently on the back and sighed. Cindy laughed- nervously- and took a rubber ball after Isabel. Isabel tossed her ball first, pulling her arm back and throwing it forward with as much strength as she could muster. Spender screeched and covered his head. It'd been a good call, considering she made a hole in the sign next to his head- even though she'd missed the target.

Cindy went up next, tossing the ball back and forth in her hands as she decided just how to throw it. She could throw it the same way Isabel did, but she feared her accuracy was just as bad if not worse and she'd miss the target by a yard. She thought about doing an underthrow, but there was no way that would hit the target from their distance. Cindy hummed and tilted her head from side-to-side. "Need help?"

She felt her heart jump in her chest at not just Ed's voice, but the proximity. He took her hands gently and positioned her so that she was in a perfect throwing stance. One hand held hers and the other laid at her forearm. He was warm- just like she remembered him being. "You've gotta be careful about your stance 'cause you'll end up missing big time, like Izzy."

"Hey!"

"Keep your eyes on the target and your hand steady, and you should be good to throw the ball! This is why you should come train at the dojo. It'd really help your spectral shots, ya know!"

Cindy gulped and hoped to all hope he didn't feel her tensing.

"Ed just let her toss the ball already! You're giving Mister Spender a heart-attack!"

It was true. Spender sat with her legs at his chest, frozen in fear, watching his students with demeaned eyes. "Look at him! He's begging for mercy!"

Ed snickered in Cindy's ear and pulled away. "Take the shot!"

With a yelp Cindy shut her eyes and threw the ball.

It missed.

It missed and hit the carny.

* * *

After five minutes of Cindy apologizing profusely to the nice man with twenty-million piercings in places she didn't think piercings could go, she found her way back to Ed and Isabel with her metaphorical tail between her legs. "Sorry, guys."

"Don't be!" Isabel laughed and slapped her shoulder. "Ed's still got a shot! If we didn't make it, he will for sure!"

Spender wasn't so worried anymore. In fact, he was looking very confident in himself. If Isabel couldn't hit, then Ed certainly couldn't!

But he did.

With a swing of his arm and a keen sight, the blonde spectral threw the ball, using as much balance between strength and accuracy as he could muster.

Ed hit the target and the teacher went sinking down into the deepest pits of the tank.

The crowd started cheering in a wave of applause and flying fruits and vegetables.

Cindy's eyes searched for Ed's, but when she found them his own were on Isabel. He picked his friend up and swung her around, much to Isabel's surprise. There was a screech and "Ed, stop it we're gonna fall over the railing", but there was laughter. Cindy's hands twitched at her sides in search of something- a hand. Ed's hand- the hand she wasn't allowed to hold anymore.

Maybe if she'd never brought him home…

Well then what would have happened? They would have found out later and the severing of their relationship would have hurt so much more. Cindy still wondered if that would have been worth it, though. If she just had a little more time to hug him and walk home with him and sing horrible duets with him, she almost felt like she could have stayed his other half.

Isabel squeaked just as Ed lifted her feet off the ground and threw her over his shoulder for the sake of twisting around in fast circles.

Cindy sighed, shook her head, smiled, and tossed a rubber ball at Ed's face.


	3. Masterpiece

The first time he sees her that way is when they are standing under the street lamp.

It's been a long night with a long dinner and it followed a long week he doesn't really want to remember. He's just found out his girlfriend (the one he was sure he was head-over-heels in love with) was his cousin. Then he found out that she doesn't care and that she still wants to be his. It was awkward and sad and overall uncomfortable and horrible- telling her he was not interested, because up until that point he'd been so invested in her. He'd planned on spending every moment he could with Cindy, and to see her face when he didn't kiss her cheek as he left and when he didn't hold her hand, it was hard and it hurt. It hurt a lot.

That's why he's shocked when he looks up at Isabel and she looks like that.

Her hair is a mess in that bun she refuses to let down and her jacket falls loosely at her shoulders. The tears in her eyes are so rare and she's letting him see them just once- it somehow makes her even… what is the word?

She was a painting. She was more than anything he could ever draw. She was a sculpture he'd never quite be able to capture. Isabel was a stroke of genius and for the first time he just wants to hold her. He'd felt it while Velda pulled on her soul- watching Isabel fight for her life, even though she was unconscious and had no idea what was happening. He'd felt it when he'd caught her eyes as she sat at the bottom of Cindy's stairs, watching him with a sorry look when she had nothing to apologize for. He'd felt it when she stood there alone in the middle of their front yard after the Ghost Train, holding her arm and staring at the ground hard like she was lost in thoughts he could never touch. She probably was.

It is a feeling to reach out and grab her and keep her safe and just make sure she knows she is- she is…

He kisses her that night for the first time. Ed feels something in him so warm he can hardly contain himself (from doing what, he doesn't know). When they pull away, he fights to keep from looking at her and saying "Izzy, I don't know what I was thinking".

Seriously, where had he been that entire week?

* * *

The second time he sees her that way, they're in eighth grade and he's bent over struggling to breathe and she's covered in sweat and grime and they've got ectoplasm all over their clothes. Some part of him is focused on not passing out, but another part of him is worried about Isabel.

They've just taken down some sort of spirit in a trench coat with some spooky limbs from lots of different animals underneath. It's after school and the gym is empty and Max and Isaac are on the other side of the building, busy tackling some business revolving around the groundhog spirit from a year ago. Ed's trying so hard to see straight, but he's all over the place and his lungs burn and that is probably the last thing he needs to worry about. He probably started falling or something, because Isabel's hands are the only thing keeping him standing up straight, pressed sternly against his shoulders. He hardly hears her voice, but he can make out her laugh.

She says "Ed, take it easier next time" and "It really knocked the air outta you, huh?"

When Ed finally catches his breathe, he loses it again.

Her hair is loose and her eyes are wide in amusement with her pink lips (that he remembers the touch of like he remembers the feel of his tool) parted to breathe in as much as she can. Her hands that were stern before feel so enrapturing, and suddenly he's staring at that art gallery portrait all over again. Isabel tilts her head just-so-slightly and asks "Ed, are you okay?"

All he can do is nod slowly while his brain tries to get up to speed with what he is feeling and thinking. They said "that was weird" and "let's not do that again" but he is starting to question why it was "weird' back then.

Isabel seems happy with his answer, so she just slings his arm over her shoulders and hoists him out of the gym.

* * *

The third time, they are freshman and it's Homecoming. No dates for any of them (even though he catches Max staring at Isaac every now and then. He teases the batter covertly, making kissy faces while Max shuffles agitatedly and rolls his eyes. Isaac is oblivious). There is no Isabel walking down the stairs and taking their breaths away, but Isabel on the dancefloor is something else entirely. She can't dance for the life of her, but she is Isabel and she doesn't care and neither does he because he's standing right next to her busting out all of his weird(er) moves.

Well, maybe he cares more than he thought he did because, as wacky and weird as her movements are (hands and arms jerking in places at the wrong beats), he is entranced by her and has to apologize to strangers several times for hitting them in the face on accident. Ed wishes he had a camera. She could have been a home-movie, one that they watched just to laugh at for years to come, plunging into nostalgia on a random night just because they can. It'd be a decade later and he'd sit his kids down on the couch and say "Watch! Watch! Watch! Look, there's-!" There's who? Auntie Isabel doesn't seem right. Miss Isabel has an even worse ring to it. Misses? Misses who? That 'M' is right, but every word he matches is wrong.

She finds his eyes while she hops up and down between Isaac and Max (who are happy to dance with her as they avoid too much eye-contact with each-other) and the look in them changes. Ed sees that mischief fade to something soft and beckoning.

She grabs his hands, sets them at her waist, and wraps her arms around his neck. His heart is jumping in his chest by then, hands twitching where they lay on her. It isn't like this is the first time they'd danced together. This is a penny in the millions of times she'd had her arms around his neck or he'd held her, so why do his hands start sweating like they are? Isabel doesn't seem to notice how lost in- whatever he is lost in- he is, so she continues smiling, her usual huge grin that belongs only to the big screen production that is her.

Then she sets her head on his shoulder and everything feels right. She's close and she's right there. She's in his arms and she's happy. The girl who's usually so pent-up and violent and sharp- she's calm and she's enjoying herself. His hands come up from her waist to wrap around her in a hug and they continue swaying back and forth. Ed shuts his eyes and buries his head in her hair with a large dorky smile.

* * *

The fourth time, Ed is jealous. It's sophomore year. He's known Isaac for all of five years and yet- what the hell are they doing so close to each-other? Why is Isaac at their house all the time? Ed is totally cool with them hanging out together- just why so much? Why so often? What are they doing when he's not around?

Homework? Video games? Movies?! Kissing?! MAKING OUT?!

He sits in their old middle school clubroom with Isaac, painting things at random and letting it splatter to the floor when he gets bored of it- which isn't difficult because one thing is on his mind and nothing else holds his attention. Isaac sits on the other side of the couch and makes tiny clouds with his fingers, manipulating small rainbows and sparks and flashes of lightning. It is silent and nobody else is there yet. Max has to lock up the corner store (his dad is out of town and Zoe is spending the night a friend's house) and Isabel has to stay after for volleyball practice (she'd joined the team because the coach begged and pleaded and eventually Isabel figured "Why the hell not?"). Spender has to talk to a few teachers about a few teacher things- nothing Ed nor Isaac care about.

Ed brings it up nonchalantly. "So, what's the deal with you and Isabel?" Well, he tries at least. There has to be credit there. Isaac looks at him with a cocked eyebrow and a twitching eye, already not appreciating where the conversation is going. "I'm sorry?"

Ed realizes he has to be a little more forward, "I'm just curious about what's been going on with you and her. You two tossing the dice or something?" so he is.

Isaac waves his cloud away, expression tightening into what seems like curiosity and mild disgust. "I don't get what you're saying?"

Ed shrugs and refuses to meet his eyes, instead focusing them on the ground. It isn't like Isaac can really read his eyes through his glasses. Isabel is the only one who can do that. "Look, I just wanna know if you're doing stuff with Isabel, because she's like a sister to me. I just wanna know if there's a chance you two are… doing things like dates and kissing and stuff like that. No big deal." He hears Isaac move awkwardly besides him, and some part of Ed revels in that fact. Yes, he can squirm. He is touching Izzy, he can squirm all day! He knows Isaac is still his friend- but he wasn't about to tolerate them keeping a relationship secret from him! He would have asked Isabel, but Ed knows there's no way she would be upfront about a secret. Then Isaac sets his hands on either of Ed's shoulders and pulls him so that they are eye-to-eye. "I'm shocked I need to say this, but since you obviously need to hear it…" Ed's eyebrows furrow, ready to hear the worst. Isaac doesn't seem nearly as anxious, face so neutral he almost mistakes it for Isaac's 'Max' impression.

"Ed," Isaac says "I'm not dating your girlfriend."

* * *

The next time is during the following year, when Ed is well aware that Isabel isn't seeing anybody and Isaac was only her lab partner last year. The four of them are stronger than ever, but somehow Ed isn't satisfied. Max has gotten over being awkward around Isaac (took him long enough) and is pretty much attached to the medium's hip. It's mutual. Isaac always seems to retreat into himself when Max isn't around- like he doesn't know he belongs. Ed and Isabel remain best friends, and yet Ed feels like something is wrong. They're setting off fireworks for the Fourth of July, and usually Isabel would love the display of colors and sounds as much as he does, but she's sitting on the ground looking angry. Her eyes are on the sky, but she's looking way past the explosions.

He sits down, offers her a cola, and he doesn't even have to say anything.

"I never mentioned him" Isabel says with a hint of guilt in her voice "but I liked him a lot."

She's apologizing for not telling him. She promised she would tell him back when they went through his relationship (he cringed thinking about it) with Cindy. She's still talking, so he pays attention and pushes away the sting in his chest. He understands it, but it still hurts. There's another feeling there, too. It doesn't sting, as it's more of a dropping feeling. Ed almost feels disheartened. He ignores it. "Naturally, he has a girlfriend I didn't know about" he can tell she's bitter about it- there's sarcasm dripping from her voice "because nothing can ever be simple with us. Nothing can ever happen and not be complicated, right, because we're the Activity Club? Everything has to be screwed and there can't be just one answer and there definitely can't just be one question." Isabel pulls her legs up and wraps her arms around them, acting like she's cold but he knows she's not. She's red-hot with passion. She's angry. She's hurt. She's a lot of things. She's burning.

Ed shakes his head and actually takes his eyes off of her to look at the fireworks. He's not shocked to find they're less of a sight. He seldom finds anything that could match. Match what? Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her looking up from her lap to the exploding rockets, too.

"Well where's the fun in that?" He says it with a smile- one he didn't know he had. It isn't toothy and it's not cocky. His grin is genuine. He cares.

Ed doesn't see her face from where he's sitting, but he's assuming she looks disbelieving. "Don't get philosophical on me, Ed."

He looks at her, jaw dropping exaggeratedly to emphasize just how insulted he is. "I'm not Mister Spender." Isabel giggles and his hurt pride slips away. He loves that sound.

Max is standing next to Isaac and Spender is lighting another firework.

"You sure about that?"

Ed snorts and shrugs. "I'm just tryin' to say that maybe it's for the better? If we constantly knew what questions to ask and where to look to find the answers, what would we have to live for?" Ed pauses and waits for Isabel to respond. She doesn't. He waits a little while longer until eventually realizing she doesn't plan on saying anything at all. He takes it upon himself to fill the silence for her. "All masterpieces need a little thought, you know?"

She's looking at him now- really looking at him, and he's used to the breath he loses when he looks back. Color from the fireworks and the moon and the fire from the lighters used to set flames on the fuses- they all mesh together to paint her face like a kaleidoscope. She's looking at him curiously and he needs to remind himself that she's going to say something. He has to pay attention.

"Saying 'all lives are masterpieces' is a little philosophical, Ed. Admit it."

"I wasn't talking about all lives" he grins "I was talking about yours."

She's blushing and grabbing his arm to twist it and hurt him, but she's not really trying and in reality she's just pulling him closer. Ed doesn't try to fight it- he never does. He follows her grip and finds her burying her head into his chest. For a few seconds he's worried that she's crying, but her shoulders are perfectly still and her hands are clenching and unclenching at his back. He wraps his arms around her, for what must be the millionth time in their lives, and rests his chin on her head. One hand runs through her hair.

By the time Spender's telling them they need to pack it up and go home and Max is chasing Isaac around with a sparkler and Isaac's laughing with a cloud in his hand (filled with rain that will unpleasantly surprise Max, Ed assumes), they're so at peace.

Ed is laying back against the grass and Isabel's head is on his chest and they're stargazing together. Her hand is beside her head and she's curling into him because he's warm and she'd been shivering earlier. Both of his arms are behind his head, but he knows they want to be around her. He's used to this feeling by now- though Ed does acknowledge, for the first time, that he wants to call the masterpiece his own.


End file.
